nerdy bio

Who are you, and what do you do?

In 2017 I started Blackmill, a software engineering consultancy, where we work with organisations and their people to solve cultural and business problems. We review their engineering practices to identify strengths and weaknesses to find areas for improvement. Through consulting, workshops,, tech leadership coaching, and a growing community of leaders, we help nurture a healthy culture that supports both the goals of the business and its people.

I am a developer with more than ten years experience writing [Ruby][] and [Rails][]. I've co-organised multiple Ruby conferences in Sydney Australia and New York. I also co-organised Rails Camps, Rails Girls workshops and in 2017 I developed and ran the Qantas Hotels Engineering Academy, a paid apprenticeship program, up-skilling junior developers in better development practices over six months. I sometimes give talks at conferences or other public events.

I am currently studying a Graduate Certificate in Psychology of Business and Management with Curtin University.

What hardware(tools) and software do you use?

I use a [MacBook Air][macbook-air] with a Mac keyboard and trackpad. I recently got an [OLKB Planck][planck] mechanical keyboard but haven't had a chance to set it up yet.

I take hand-written notes on [reMarkable][remarkable-2] that I then convert to text. And I read books mainly on a [Kindle][].

I use [MacVim][] for development work and my dotfiles config is available on [GitHub][].

I use [MacDown][] for [Markdown][] notes. I use those markdown files for todo lists, meeting notes, research paper summaries, book notes, writing articles and more that and all these files are mostly stored in a shared [Dropbox][].

I use [Homebrew][] for package management and like [Homebrew Cask CLI][homebrew-cask] for installing GUI [macOS][] applications.

For [Git][] commit history exploration, I like to use [GitX][].

For database explorations and queries, I use [Postico][] or [Querious][].

For JSON API queries, I use [Postman][] or [Insomnia][].

For tracking work items, we use [Kitemaker][].

What would be your dream/dream setup?

I have an UpDown Desk and use an exercise ball as a chair. I also use an exercise bike with an adjustable desk. My desk is currently covered with merch items that need to be shipped out. So first step would be to get my desk space back. Then I would like to get a nice monitor and an anti-fatigue standing mat.

Last year, I got a Blue Yeti mic when I needed to record a few videos. There are a few small video recording related items I'd like to explore.

But mostly, I would like to have my desk facing a window and sunny green outdoors.